The Big Man Battle Part 2: Review

Juniors Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander battled it out in Part Two of the Chicago big man battle; however it was junior guard L.J. Peak who stole the show and helped lead Whitney Young to a 62-58 victory over Curie in a tight ball game. The crowd got to see the top big men in the country go at it, but it was Okafor’s talented supporting cast who stepped up in the second half to advance to the sectional finals against rival Simeon.

Game Recap:

The underdog Curie Condors started the game off as the aggressors in a 1-2-2 full court trap and active zone defense. 5’9” senior point guard Demarcus Richardson led the way for Curie from the start by using his quickness to disrupt the Whitney Young ball-handlers and drive to the basket for open lay-ups or kick outs which resulted in a 14-13 first quarter lead.

 In a quarter filled with runs, Whitney Young started with a 6-0 run to take a 19-16 lead which ended with a Miles Reynolds lay-up. This run was quickly answered by Curie as they went on their own 9-0 run highlighted by a violent Alexander tip dunk. Whitney Young cut their deficit down to two until the Stamps brothers (Joe and Josh) hit back to back threes to give Curie a 31-23 halftime lead. Curie also managed to keep Okafor scoreless for the final 13 minutes of the first half by limiting his touches in the post and swarming him with their zone defense. 

While Curie entered the half with the momentum and the crowd behind them, it was Whitney Young who turned into the aggressors in the 2^nd half. After a non-existent second quarter, Okafor started the quarter off with a quick lay-up and rim rattling dunk followed up by a Peak three-pointer to cap a 9-0 run. Starting with Whitney Young’s 9-0 run, LJ Peak took over the ball game and showed why he is considered a top 50 player in the country. After the three, Peak scored the next six points for his team on a dunk and two lay-ups coming from aggressive drives to the basket. Despite having Okafor pick up his 4^th foul with 2:23 to go in the 3^rd quarter, Whitney Young had a 42-39 lead behind Peak’s 10 points in the quarter and going to a “5-out” offense with all players surrounding the perimeter. 

In a back and forth fourth quarter affair, Whitney Young took hold of the game as Okafor re-emerged off the bench. Whitney Young went on a quick 6-0 run which began with a Peak basket, and an Ausar Madison jump shot. The last basket came off an Okafor block which ignited a fast break and ended with the big man being rewarded with a lay-up after running the court which provided a 53-48 lead. After this final surge, Whitney Young was able to knock down their free throws while holding Curie at bay. L.J. Peak was the game’s high scorer with 23 points while point guard Ausar Madison had 9 assists. 

Whitney Young will face off against Simeon in a re-match of their regular season battle shown on ESPN. Simeon won that game, but Whitney Young won the Chicago public league crown. Whitney Young will try to knock off Simeon and end their reign as the back to back to back state champion.

The Match-up:

As sophomores Okafor and Alexander scored nine and ten points respectively in a match-up that was plagued by foul trouble and guard dominated play. In their junior year match-up, Okafor went for 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Alexander went for 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. 

First half stats:

Okafor: 5 points, 2-3 FG’s, 1-4 FT’s

Alexander: 4 points, 2-5 FG’s

The match-up started off slow in the first half. Okafor began the game by attacking Alexander on the right block for a short basket and the foul. He then went on to record another lay-up in traffic before going scoreless the remainder of the half. Alexander added four points in the first half with one basket coming in each quarter. In the first quarter Alexander scored from the right block over Okafor and then in the second quarter he put down a rim rattling one hand put back dunk that got the crowd off its feet. 

Second half stats:

Okafor: 8 points, 4-5 FG’s

Alexander: 10 points, 3-4 FG’s. 4-6 FT’s 
 

In the second half, Curie went away from their zone defense and Alexander and Okafor were finally allowed to go mano y mano. Both players tried their best to back down the other big man in the post with limited success. Okafor picked up two quick fouls and was sent to the bench with four fouls and 2:23 to go in the third quarter. Before this, Okafor scored off a right hook and dunk down the lane to start the quarter and Young’s comeback. Alexander scored one basket in the third quarter which came off an aggressive back down on Okafor and also added in two free throws.

In the fourth quarter, Okafor added two more baskets from in close with a lay-up in traffic and a fast break lay-up which give his team a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished. Alexander had his most aggressive stint in the fourth quarter starting off with a forceful dunk while Okafor looked on from the sideline. Alexander kept calling for the ball on offense and when allowed room to make a move he was able to draw contact and get to the line. In the final minutes, Alexander caught the ball and quickly elevated in the middle of the lane for a 5 foot jump hook over Okafor for his most impressive non-dunk of the day. 

Overall:

In their second match-up, neither Okafor nor Alexander got the best of each other as both big men had solid second halves. Alexander has the athleticism while Okafor has the more refined offensive game. They took turns going at each other while showing the crowd that their premier status is well deserved. While most big guys prefer to float out to the perimeter, both Okafor and Alexander barely venture outside the paint and battled inside. In yesterday’s match-up, only one shot between the both of them came from outside the lane (Alexander missed a 12 foot jumper). Both big men also displayed a tendency to only go right upon receiving an entry pass to the post. Alexander preferred taking a few dribbles before turning for a right hand hook shot, while Okafor would routinely maneuver his way to the basket until he was comfortable shooting with his right hand.

While Alexander and Curie won the meeting last year, Okafor and Whitney Young got their revenge this year and live to play another day.